90 Migrants feared dead after boat capsizes near Libya

90 migrants are feared drowned after a boat capsized off the Libyan coast, says the UN’s migration agency. Many of the victims appeared to have been from Pakistan, according to information provided by three survivors that had not been verified, said Olivia Headon, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration, who added that eight of the 10 bodies from the capsized craft that had washed up on the Libyan coast were Pakistani.

Libya has for years been a major transit route for migrants trying to reach southern Europe by sea. EU countries have wrangled over both reducing migrant numbers and deciding which countries are responsible for processing migrants on arrival.

The EU struck a deal with the Libyan coastguard last year to help intercept migrants and return them to Libya.